Bentley recall: Bentley Motors is recalling 820 cars worldwide over fears that its famous "Winged B" hood ornament could injure people in an accident.

Jerry Lai/AP/File

The hood ornament of a 2008 Bentley Azure is pictured at the Chicago Auto Show in this, Feb. 7, 2008 file photo taken in Chicago. Luxury carmaker Bentley said on Sept. 23 it's recalling 820 cars worldwide over fears that its famous "Winged B" hood ornament could injure people in an accident.

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September 23, 2010

By David RisingAssociated Press

Berlin

Luxury carmaker Bentley is recalling 820 cars worldwide over fears that its famous "Winged B" hood ornament could injure people in an accident because it might not properly retract.

Bentley Motors' European head office in Berlin said Thursday the recall affects 620 cars in the United States and Canada and 200 in Europe who added the raised hood ornament as an option on Arnage, Brooklands and Azure models made between October 2006 and March 2009.

The company says no injuries have been reported but a Bentley dealer noticed the spring mechanism under the ornament has a tendency to corrode and might not always function properly.

"The recall is rather theoretical," said company spokesman Richard Durbin in a telephone interview from Crewe, England, where Bentley cars are produced. "If it were struck by something, we want it to retract as quickly as possible and in some instances it's not doing it."

He added the hood ornament itself is unaffected by corrosion because it is stainless steel.

Bentley, owned by Germany's Volkswagen AG, will replace the mechanism free and says the work takes about an hour to complete.